New

Chris Paul Cut By Clippers After Conflict With Teammates, Coaches And Executives

Clippers guard Chris Paul controls the ball under pressure from Mavericks forward Caleb Martin on Saturday at the Intuit Dome. (William Liang / Associated Press)

Chris Paul was released by the Clippers overnight after extended conflict with the team, a league source not authorized to discuss the issue publicly told The Times.

Paul called out fellow Clippers players, coaches and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank during his current stint with the team, a league source told The Times. The person added that Paul apologized, but "everyone was fed up."

It is unlikely Paul will sign with another team, a league source told The Times, because of his powerful voice in the locker room, which can be difficult for teams to deal with, and his age.

"He's not the player he used to be," a league source said when asked about Paul's options after the Clippers' decision.

Paul announced his abrupt and startling exit from the team amid what was expected to be his final NBA season.

“Just Found Out I'm Being Sent Home,” Paul posted on social media at around 3 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday morning, adding a peace emoji.

The struggling Clippers are in Atlanta for a game against the Hawks on Wednesday night. The Clippers lost at Miami on Monday night to fall to 5-16 in a wildly disappointing start to the season.

The 40-year-old Paul is playing his 21st NBA season, and he strongly hinted last month that it will be his last. The 12-time All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist has earned four All-NBA first team selections, and he ranks second in NBA history with 12,552 assists. He was the first player to score at least 20,000 points while recording at least 10,000 assists.

He became arguably the most accomplished player in Clippers franchise history while leading the team to six winning seasons from 2011-17, including the Clippers' first two Pacific Division titles and three playoff series victories. Paul returned to Los Angeles as a free agent last July, rejoining a franchise where he is loved by fans while having an outside chance to contend for his first championship alongside Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.

Frank issued a statement confirming Paul's departure to several media outlets early Wednesday. He indicated the Clippers will attempt to trade Paul, who signed a $3.6-million deal to return to L.A.

“We are parting ways with Chris, and he will no longer be a part of the team,” Frank said in the statement. “We will work with him on the next step of his career. Chris is a legendary Clipper who has had a historic career. I want to make one thing very clear. No one is blaming Chris for our underperformance. I accept responsibility for the record we have right now. There are a lot of reasons why we've struggled. We're grateful for the impact Chris has made on the franchise.”

Paul hasn’t spoken to reporters since he strongly hinted at retirement while the Clippers were back in his native North Carolina. But he acknowledged a video retrospective of his career played by the Clippers during a timeout at Intuit Dome last week. The video ended with “Congratulations, Point God” on the screen.

He is averaging 2.6 points and 3.3 assists while playing just 14.3 minutes per game — all career lows — and he didn't play at all in five straight games in mid-November. Paul had eight points and three assists while playing 15 minutes against the Heat in what turned out to be his final game with the team — a game in which Harden and other starters were effectively benched, in the latest sign of discord for coach Tyronn Lue's team.

The Clippers are on a five-game skid, and they're tied with Sacramento for the second-worst record in the Western Conference heading into Wednesday's games. Leonard has been limited to 10 games by injuries, and they've already lost guard Bradley Beal to season-ending hip surgery.

The Clippers’ streak of 14 consecutive winning seasons is the longest active streak in the NBA, but owner Steve Ballmer’s club has yet to show signs of contention this season — and now they're going forward without a historically talented point guard and franchise favorite.

The Associated Press' Greg Beacham contributed to this report.

Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Back to Listing

credit:

Chris Paul Cut By Clippers After Conflict With Teammates, Coaches And Executives

Popular Products